South Africa and Rwanda call for African court

Johannesburg: South African President Jacob Zuma and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame yesterday called for the creation of an African court, accusing the International Criminal Court in The Hague of imposing "selective" justice.

"You always have the Africans indicted, you don't see any others from Europe and other places," Kagame said at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town on Friday. "Why? Are you not creating an impression that the only people that are indictable are Africans?"

Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir is the latest African leader who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

He is accused of masterminding atrocities during the conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur. Rebels there have been fighting the government since 2003, seeking a greater share of the country's wealth and political power.

The African Union and the League of Arab States have called for the case against Al Bashir to be suspended, saying the court is politically motivated and that prosecution would endanger the peace process in Darfur.